New Works Initiative

A pioneering movement in new opera when it was launched in 2008, Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative (NWI) continues to invigorate the operatic art form with an infusion of contemporary works, while fulfilling the company’s commitment to artistic growth, leadership, and innovation. 2022’s world premiere of Edward Tulane (by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Mark Campbell) marks the latest opera created through the NWI, a seven-year, $7 million program designed to invigorate the opera repertoire with an infusion of new and contemporary works. Through this Initiative the contemporary works we champion will be given life well beyond these performances in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota Opera recently announced the engagement of six artists who will pioneer the next phase in the company’s New Works Initiative over the next several seasons. The Initiative’s new commissioning model fosters long-term creative partnerships that will invigorate the operatic art form with a diverse infusion of contemporary vocal works. The result will be nine works total: three operas to premiere at the Ordway, three operas to premiere at the Luminary Arts Center, and three song cycles. 

The New Works Initiative creative cohort includes composers B.E Boykin, David Hanlon, and Kamala Sankaram, and librettists Minita Gandhi, Harrison David Rivers, and John de los Santos.  

The six artists involved in this program will collaborate in each composer/librettist combination in turn to collectively create three full-scale operas to premiere at the Ordway, three chamber operas to premiere at the Luminary Arts Center, and three song cycles that will premiere over the next several seasons. The commissioning cycle will include engagement and development opportunities for the cohort to nurture these artistic offerings and encourage deeper relationships with the company throughout the process.  

“New works are the lifeblood of any artform, and Minnesota Opera is proud of our organization’s contributions to our community and the field,” said MN Opera President and General Director Ryan Taylor. “This evolution of our New Works Initiative represents a long-term commitment to the vitality and creative output of the six artists we are fortunate enough to engage as a cohort. Commissioning these new pieces from accomplished creators representing an intentionally broad range of lived experiences will diversify the operatic canon, speaking directly to MN Opera’s artistic and diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. We are excited to see what new discoveries will emerge from this talented group of artists as we pursue our vision to ‘sing every story.’”  

October 2024 Updates

Minnesota Opera is excited to provide an exciting update regarding three new additions to the operatic canon as a result of the company’s New Works Initiative. The creative cohort of composers B.E. Boykin, Kamala Sankaram, and David Hanlon and librettists Harrison David Rivers, Minita Gandhi, and John de los Santos was announced in 2022. These first three titles will be followed by three song cycles and three more operas that have yet to be announced.

The following new operas will take steps forward in their development:

• Composer B.E. Boykin and librettist Harrison David Rivers come together on a brand-new chamber opera titled My Name is Florence, based on the life and career of Florence Price, a prominent American composer who was active in the first half of the twentieth century and the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major U.S. orchestra. My Name is Florence will be the first of the current set of new works to receive an orchestral workshop in May 2025, consisting of a week of rehearsals in which the MN Opera Orchestra, MN Opera Chorus, and a cast of singers will read through the opera and afford Boykin and Rivers the opportunity to receive feedback focused on ensemble balance and overall pacing. It will premiere at the Luminary Arts Center during the 2025-2026 season.
  
  
• The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Minita Gandhi’s operatic adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, will receive a piano workshop in November 2024. This will consist of a week of individual music coachings and ensemble rehearsals to sing through a piano-vocal score, allowing the composer and librettist to receive feedback on text setting and the story arc of the piece. Working in coordination with MN Opera’s Artistic Planning Team, Sankaram and Gandhi secured the rights to adapt the story from author Ram V and illustrator Filipe Andrade in January 2024. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was published by BOOM! Studios, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, and received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Limited Series in 2022. Sankaram and Gandhi’s work is slated to premiere at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and is the first-ever operatic adaption of a comic book or graphic novel.
  
  
• Composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist John de los Santos will adapt Misery, the best-selling novel by Stephen King, for the operatic stage, having secured the rights in September 2024. The piece will continue to be developed throughout the 2024-2025 season with the workshopping process set to occur over the course of the ensuing two years. Misery is currently expected to receive its public premiere at the Luminary within the next four seasons.
  

“MN Opera has been a champion of new and contemporary opera from our inception in 1963, contributing to a legacy of 50 world premieres to date,” said President and General Director Ryan Taylor. “Our dedication and commitment to this work is part of who we are and has been from the very beginning. The New Works Initiative was created with the intention of making a significant contribution to the operatic canon through our extensive support of and collaboration with the accomplished artists who can meaningfully add new stories to American opera. We’re excited to be moving forward with these creators as we continue to realize our vision to sing every story.”

The New Works Initiative was launched in 2008 and has, to date, resulted in productions of Silent Night, Doubt, Edward Tulane, The Manchurian Candidate, The Shining, Dinner at Eight, and The Fix, among others. The current creative cohort was commissioned in 2022 and will work in different pairings to collectively create three full-scale operas to premiere at the Ordway, three chamber operas to premiere at the Luminary Arts Center, and three song cycles that will premiere over the course of the next several seasons. This process is designed to provide a support system for the cohort, allowing and encouraging the artists to share ideas, experiences, and resources over the course of the project.